THE GUNNERS, ROONEY AND BAKE OFF

3rd September 2006 After Arsenal had played just one Premier League match at the Emirates, Brazil played their first ‘home’ match at the stadium, beating Argentina 3-0. In future years Brazil regularly played in their adopted home in North London.

Score	3-0 to Brazil
Referee	Steve Bennett
Competition	International Friendly
Venue	Emirates Stadium
Attendance	59,032

BRAZILIAN Goals:

Elano		2
Elano		67
Kaka		88

    

3rd September 2014  England had a dismal time at the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil and when they played their first match after the finals - a friendly against Norway at Wembley - the fans showed their displeasure when just 40,181 turned up. That was a new low for an England crowd at the revamped stadium - but things were as bad on television. ITV showed the game live and it was up against the Great British Bake Off on BBC. Nearly twice as many people watched the Bake Off!    The newly-appointed England captain, Wayne Rooney scored the only goal from the penalty spot. List to date....

1- Harry Kane – 85 goals in 121 appearances
2 - Wayne Rooney – 53 goals in 120 appearances
3- Sir Bobby Charlton – 49 goals in 106 appearances
4- Gary Lineker – 48 goals in 80 appearances
5- Jimmy Greaves – 44 goals in 57 appearances
6- Michael Owen – 40 goals in 89 appearances
7= Sir Tom Finney – 30 goals in 76 appearances
7= Nat Lofthouse – 30 goals in 33 appearances
7= Alan Shearer – 30 goals in 63 appearances
10= Frank Lampard – 29 goals in 106 appearances

DEBUT, DEBUT, DEBUT

Well it wasn't quite the exact day but on the 1st September 1996, David Beckham made his international debut against the East European team, Moldova. Only five years independent, Moldova was a young nation, formed at the break up of the USSR and their side very much in its "infancy" too.

Glen Hoddle also made his managerial debut on the day and so did Andy Hinchcliffe of Everton, the first of his 7 caps.

Beckham went on to earn 115 caps, with the odd moment of controversy, but in the Moldovan capital Chisinau (formerly Kishinev) that evening, he was very much part of a dream. The 1998 World Cup was not far away and this qualifier played in front of 9,500 people should have been the start of a very successful run for the footballing artist Glen Hoddle, the juggler Gascoigne and his young pretender Golden Balls.

We all know things didn't quite work out that way, but to distract you from the historic disappointment, name these players below, in the England starting XI.

The game was a bit special nevertheless, and here are the goals. Martin Tyler still on the mic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT2u1mkBA8A

On the 10th September 1997 (SORRY NOT THE SAME DATE!) the return tie was held at Wembley and England won 4-0. Brighton born comedian Tony Hawks (you would recognise him if you saw him) was in a drinking contest with fellow comedian Arthur Smith who bet Hawks that he couldn't beat every one of the Moldovan football XI at tennis. Don't ask!!?? The contest took place and resulted in a book and film titled "Playing the Moldovans at Tennis". The film was released in September 2012.

A QUARTER OF A CENTURY AGO

I know what I was doing on Saturday 1st September, 2001, 25 years ago. I coached at the local football club in the morning, THEN played cricket "next door" for Farncombe Wanderers CC, (local Hants/Surrey border league) with a chum Richard V. Lewis (a retired Hampshire professional player-and not a bad footballer too). Guess which of us two was a county cricketer?). Lew got a few and I batted for 52, so we were both happy.

Then to cap it all, my dear wife and I were summoned to a friend's 50th birthday party in Farnham, a big affair with a marquee and all those sorts of things. Better still there was a TV on, as we arrived showing Michael Owen's hat trick and England thumping Germany 5-1 in Munich. This was not a valueless friendly but a World Cup Qualifier! Gulp!! We had lost to them at Wembley the previous October, 0-1.

What a day, cricket, Footy v Germany. WIN, big party!! Fizzy drinkies....

In June 2000 the England team had beaten Germany 1-0 in Charleroi in the European Championship Group A, Shearer scored but the group table showed Germany bottom with one draw, us next with that one win. Portugal and Romania both beat us 2-3 and went through. Remember that?

During the rest of the World Cup qualifiers in 2000-1, we drew 0-0 with Finland away, beat them at home 2-1 and beat Albania away. In the next test, Beckham and Scholes scored against Greece in Athens, then came the Munich marvel. What ever happened in that match who knows, but the Germans were clearly not themselves?

Continuing our assault on the 2002 World Cup, having beaten Albania at St James' Park, then came the last crucial tie versus Greece at Old Trafford, yes, Beckham's home and you know what happened then don't you? We then went to Japan and drew with Sweden and Nigeria, beating Argentina. Then came Denmark in the second round 3-0, finally losing to Brazil in the Quarters.

(In October that year  played Slovakia in Bratislava in a European Championship Qualifier, a 2-1 victory)

THE NORTH LONDON RIVALRY

When the First World War ended and football resumed, the Arsenal club found itself better placed than at the start of action. At the end of 1914/15 The Gunners were placed 5th in the Second Division of the Football League, but four hears later, with the help of a very persuasive Club Chairman, Tory MP, Sir Henry Norris, (below) the Gunners were "Up". He had taken advantage of the Division's expansion from 20 to 22 clubs. It had been expected, as in the "League expansions" of 1898 and 1906, that the bottom two clubs in the First (in this case Chelsea and Tottenham) would stay up, while the two top Second Division clubs, Derby and Preston, would be promoted. Derby and Preston's promotions were assured, but there were two places up for grabs. Norris argued that Spurs deserved to be relegated on account of their League position. Chelsea however, did not, as Manchester United would have been in their relegated position in 1915 had they not gained two points from a fixed match against Liverpool.

By arguing for Chelsea, but not calling for the demotion of United and Liverpool, Norris was winning Brownie points for Arsenal. Other clubs were impressed with his powerful contacts and among others, Norris was "close friends" with "Hoinest" John McKenna, President of the Football League!! So when it came for the League Committee to decide who would get the final First Division place, Arsenal won more votes than Spurs (of course!), Wolves and Barnsley who had all finished the 1914-15 Campaign in higher positions. There were dark accusations of bribes having been offered, but nothing was proven!!

Spurs resolved to "obtain by the verdict of the ball what they had been denied by the vote" and that's what they did! By 1920, Spurs were back in the top flight with one of their first clashes with Arsenal at White Hart Lane in 1922, far from amicable....probably accounts for the friction between the clubs these days! I wonder how mant fans realise this?

Spurs resolved to "Obtain by the verdict of the ball what they had been denied by the vote" and that's what they did! By 1920, Spurs were back in the top flight with one of their early clashes against The Gunners! at White Hart Lane!!!! Unusually for that time, two players were sent off. When Spurs scored, the Arsenal crowd got rowdy and several players were injured in a game that was competitive to say the least!!  Fighting continued outside the stadium, so that both clubs were given warnings by the FA, although a report in The Times claimed that "the spectators were almost entirely to blame for the trouble" (now there's a surprise!). A fierce rivalry was born and Arsenal have never been relegated.

The 1912–13 Season: Arsenal finished bottom of the First Division (20th place) and dropped to the Second Division. This remains their only relegation. After the First World War, league football resumed in 1919. Arsenal re-entered the First Division and has maintained an unbroken top-flight status ever since. 

TOUGH START BUT BURNLEY SURVIVE

29th August 1925 After just their first League match Burnley fans knew they were in for a tough First Division season – they lost 10-0 at Aston Villa. Burnley conceded 108 League goals during the season – but weren’t relegated!

  

29th August 2020 Well, you could easily think the picture above is of a pre-match training session at Wembley - in fact it is of the moment when the first major bit of silverware of the 2020/21 season was decided!!! Tragically coronavirus had ensured that stadiums (stadia??) empty of fans would be the norm. That included Wembley for the Arsenal v Liverpool Community Shield encounter. After finishing level at 1-1 the match went to penalties with Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang pictured scoring the winner in Arsenal's 5-4 shoot-out victory. Pierre-Emerick Emiliano François Aubameyang!!!! born in June 1989, played for Deportivo A Coruna (born 18 June 1989) and his national side, Gabon. With over 400 goals in his career, he is the all-time top goalscorer in the UEFA Europa League (34) and has the most goals in Europe's top five leagues for an African player, with over 240 goals. He is also the highest-scoring African player in the history of the Bundesliga. Below, with Arsenal in 2018.

This was the first season with the modern OFFSIDE RULE, where two defenders (as opposed to three, the rule before this season) needed to be in front of the attacker for him to be onside; as a result, offensive play flourished, with the number of goals scored in the First Division increasing from 1,192 to 1,703.

TOFFEES: Lots of Ts, Fs, Es

27th August 1938. ON THIS DAY, 88 years ago, Everton's "beacon" crest made its debut, but did so in a relatively inconspicuous location.

Founded in 1878, the club was also a founding member of the English Football League in 1888, and was a founding member of the Premier League in 1992, one of just three clubs to have been a founding member of both leagues. Everton is the club with the second-longest continuous presence in English top-flight football, and ranks third in the all-time points rankings. As of August 2025, the club has competed in the top division for a RECORD 123 seasons,

Everton's first crest, which dates back to 1920, consisted simply of the interlocking initials "EFC." According to the official club history, secretary Theo Kelly decided that a newer crest was needed—he wanted to include one on a club necktie. He also designed the crest, using the local landmark known as Prince Rupert's Tower as its centerpiece, adding laurels as emblems off success, and including the motto "Nil satis, nisi optimum," which translates to "Nothing but the best is good enough."

The club produced the neckties as proposed, and they were worn for the first time by Kelly and club chairman Earnest Green on the opening day of the 1938-39 season in the First Division. Everton were away at Blackpool that day and won 0-2 with goals from Tommy Lawton and Alex Stevenson. Kelly and Green continued to wear the ties throughout the season, which ended with Everton claiming their fifth league title (and Kelly became the team's manager for the following season). The new crest was not used on the team's shirts, however, until 1978. The crest has since undergone several modifications, most recently in 2013 when the club simplified the design, dropping both the laurels and the motto. But those changes caused an uproar among Everton supporters and the club vowed to reevaluate the crest at the end of the 2013-14 season. A promise they kept!!

Everton FC is nicknamed The Toffees, owing to local rival sweet shops, obviously making toffees, mainly! One shop run by Molly Bushell in the 18th century was near Everton Brow and this shop made the original, famous "Everton Toffee" and fans bought their sweets on their way to matches. 

Mother Noblett’s Toffee Shop also located near Goodison Park, was a rival shop that sold "Everton Mints"—YOU KNOW....black-and-white striped sweets with a hard sugar shell and a toffee center. The stripes matched an old team jersey, making them a hit with supporters.The Toffee Lady Tradition, the Toffee Lady, would walk around  the Goodison Park pitch before kick-off. She handed out or threw free Everton mints into the crowd. This historic match day tradition cemented the sweet-themed nickname for generations. 

Despite the riveting story above, some people have suggested that the tale of the Toffee Shops is a fabricated tale and that the famous Blues nickname comes from an even older name, The Taffies, which commemorates the clubs connections in history to Liverpool's nearby neighbourhood country, Wales. So that's put the cat amongst the mice!!

BULL OR GAZELL-SPURS AT THE DOUBLE

On the 20th August 1960 Tottenham Hotspur had begun a new season having come third in the First Division (in those days the top division) in the previous campaign. Burnley had won the title that year. Playing Everton at White Hart Lane, in front of over 53,000 fans, the two teams were heading for a draw when the England centre forward, Bobby Smith, who was more bull than gazelle, was brought down in the box for a penalty, but the referee played advantage and Les Allen, a silky number 10, took advantage and slotted the first goal. Two minutes later Smith scored the second to send the Spurs to the top of the league. 

Smith was from North Yorkshire and he scored 176 goals for Spurs in 271 games. He started at Chelsea, went to Brighton briefly and I saw him play for Hastings United in an FACup qualifier at Horsham Town. He was on his way down by then and actually quite old! His career with England was fairly successful with 15 goals in 13 games.

By the end of the season Tottenham had won the league and the FA Cup, beating Leicester City in the 1961 Final.

I saw Spurs draw 4-4 with Burnley at WHLane in front of a crowd of over 58,000, a game Spurs were well in charge at half time, 4-0, until John Connelly, an England winger, and Ray Pointer, also an England centre forward made their mark. Pointer was a proven goal scorer but he only played three times for England scoring twice. Spurs scored 115 goals that season and conceded 55, the second lowest in the division.

The next season, Leicester represented England in the European Cup Winners Cup because Tottenham were playing in the European Cup, as it was known then, Aston Villa won the Football League Cup, Birmingham City played in the third Inter Cities Fairs Cup (open only to one city from each European Country-16 countries participated) and lost in the final to Roma over two legs. Sheffield Wednesday were first Division runners up and Newcastle and Preston were relegated.